[Upon discovering the Prison-Suppressing Divine Body, excitement surged within you. For a long while, your mind could not calm down. Eventually, you steadied yourself and began to comprehend the legendary technique.]
[In the 13th year, after an entire year of contemplation, you still failed to grasp even its basics. Frustration welled up in your heart, and you blamed your limited talent.]
[In the 14th year, you shifted your focus to the Marrow-Cleansing Technique. From the Introduction to the World, you learned that with your current foundation—upgraded after condensing the Supreme Foundation—you possessed the potential to one day reach the Mahayana Realm.]
(Realm progression: Qi Refining → Foundation Building → Golden Elixir → Nascent Soul → God-Transformation → Void-Refining → Fusion → Mahayana → Transcending Tribulation.)
[The book also recorded that the strongest cultivator in the Eastern Wilderness stood at the Mahayana Realm.]
[With this knowledge, you cultivated diligently. The Marrow-Cleansing Technique slowly tempered your aptitude, strengthening your foundation step by step.]
[By the 20th year, your cultivation had reached the Great-Grandmaster realm.]
[During this period, you had not neglected your martial arts. However, lacking advanced techniques, you only trained your martial body to the peak of the Xiantian realm before halting. After the Gu family's destruction, you gathered all the martial arts manuals from Taiping City, and once again resumed your training.]
[In the 21st year, while cultivating the Marrow-Cleansing Technique, you were suddenly ambushed by a cultivator at the God-Transformation Realm. With no means of resistance, you quickly fell into despair as your consciousness faded.]
[In your final moments, you heard your attacker's cold voice: "Don't blame me. Blame yourself for touching the woman the young master had his eyes on."]
[At the words young master, your thoughts flickered. Perhaps the Shen Family… or another major clan. After all, such titles were reserved for powerful bloodlines.]
[Before the thought could settle, you perished.]
[Thus, the simulation ended.]
---
Yongcheng City, a small dilapidated house.
A young man's voice echoed within the room.
"Bro, I didn't expect myself to survive this long in just the second simulation." Lin Chen's tone was filled with emotion.
When he had first obtained the system, he thought he would die within two years. Yet, to have lived 21 simulated years exceeded all his expectations.
Excitement surged in his chest. After all, he had reaped immense rewards: the Gu family's treasury, protection fees from the Xiao and other families, and the wealth gifted by Xu Caihua and the seven girls.
By his estimate, this reward alone was worth millions of spirit stones. Enough to accelerate his growth tremendously.
After his excitement subsided, Lin Chen reflected on the events of the simulation. The simulated self's obsession with women left him wary.
"System," he asked, "if I choose to receive the simulation's memories, will my personality be affected?"
[No, host. This system ensures clean integration. Even if you inherit the simulated self's experiences, they will only exist in the form of point-of-view memories—something for you to observe, not something that will influence your temperament.]
Hearing this, Lin Chen nodded with satisfaction.
He continued pondering aloud: "So, the Gu family had ties to cultivators… and in ten years, they'll annihilate the Royal Family. But that has nothing to do with me, so I'll ignore it. As for that so-called young master—if he has the ability, let him take what he wants. If not, then I'll leave it for my simulated self to handle."
Lin Chen had never planned to entangle himself with romance. With a simulator as his golden finger, his cultivation speed would leave anyone he grew attached to far behind. Love, to him, was meaningless—best left to the simulated version of himself.
Just then, a crisp mechanical sound echoed in his mind.
[Ding. Reward settlement completed. The host may select one of the following rewards.]
[Green Talent: Olympic Champion]
[Cultivation: Mid-stage Great-Grandmaster, Early-stage Foundation Building {with Supreme Foundation, talent upgraded to Blue}]
[Experience: Marrow-Cleansing, combat experience, muscle memory, technique proficiency, breakthrough experience, bed experience, etc.]
[Resources: 4,782,987 spirit stones, 200 million gold, 562 million silver, Prison-Suppressing Divine Body fragment, Marrow-Cleansing Technique, Yin-Yang Technique, and more.]
[Detailed memories of everything experienced.]
Lin Chen's gaze lingered on the Experience option.
"System, what exactly is Marrow-Cleansing experience?"
[This represents the growth of talent accumulated through practicing the Marrow-Cleansing Technique or through consuming treasures that enhance aptitude.]
{Note: In the simulation, host did not practice the technique extensively. However, talent was naturally improved due to the Supreme Foundation.}
"Oh, I see." Lin Chen nodded. Without hesitation, he chose Resources. The wealth obtained was enough to sustain him for centuries.
He did not immediately inspect the treasure trove. Instead, he noticed night had already fallen. Following the routine he set since transmigrating, Lin Chen decided to rest.
That night, after days of hunger and hardship, he finally slept peacefully—deeper and calmer than in either of his lives before.
---
At dawn, Yongcheng City, Qingcheng County.
In the same dilapidated house, Lin Chen awoke. The burden of survival no longer pressed on his shoulders, leaving his body lighter than ever.
Rubbing his eyes, he chuckled to himself. "Who would have thought this poor-looking youth could rival a nation in wealth?"
He visited a shabby restaurant he often frequented, ate until his stomach was full, and returned home with a rare sense of serenity.
Back at his house, he checked his storage space. A storage ring lay quietly inside, but he didn't bother wearing it.
After all, with the system's infinite storage, what need had he for such a trinket? Worse, if a hidden expert noticed the ring, greed might be stirred. Better not to flaunt it.
Settling back, Lin Chen asked: "System, how many levels can you be upgraded?"
[Ding. This system can be upgraded to Level 7.]
"Good. Upgrade directly to Level 7 and explain the new features."
At his command, a deduction of 112 million gold coins occurred instantly.
[Ding. Upgrade to Level 7 successful. Features unlocked:]
[Level 3: The host may now select two rewards after each simulation.]
[Level 4: Blue talents guaranteed each draw; white talents permanently removed.]
[Level 5: Host may designate a cultivation realm to obtain via simulation rewards.]
[Level 6: Combat Ranking System activated, usable both in reality and simulations.]
[Level 7: System's storage space is now accessible within simulations.]